THE CALL
One of the most remarkable and crucial places in scripture is Ex. 3:5. Moses stands before the Lord God almighty and God requires something of him…the shoes. Moses has a decision to make here. If he fails God by NOT taking off the shoes, Israel will be lost. The people of God will remain in slavery and torture. The ‘seed’ of God will be lost forever and Messiah will not come. If Messiah isn’t come, we are all lost in our sins. This is where it all hinges. I believe all of heaven is watching as the Voice calls from a burning bush. Do we realize that our obedience or disobedience to God will effect future generations? Moses’ decision will affect the whole natural nation (Israel) and the whole Spiritual nation (the Church).
THE SHOES Let’s look at these shoes for a minute. These were no doubt sandals and were hand-made. This is the only MAN-MADE element in this whole account. God is there. The bush that God made is there. The ground God made is there. The man (Moses) God made was there. But the shoes were of man. God says simply “Put them off.” Now let me chase a rabbit or two. I believe God was saying to put off man-made things. The only thing separating Moses and the Holy ground was something man-made. What are we standing on? Our thoughts and ideas of God and church for centuries have the influences of man. Are we standing on man-made things? Do we realize that only the thickness of a sandal keeps us from standing on Holy Ground? We can simply miss God THAT MUCH!
THE COST In our lives we all have closets full of ‘shoes’ that keeps us off Holy ground. Our sandal might be a job or a career. It might be a ministry or some other good deed. To Abraham it was his son Isaac. To Jonah it was his homeland. To Peter, James, and John it was their nets. To many it was their Dads and Moms and friends. To Paul it was his intellect and religious training. What separates us from standing on the spot God has made? What’s your sandal? Why would God ask Moses to remove the smooth leather sandal and stand on a rough, dry, uncomfortable ground? Because God is found in the hardness of life. He is found in the rough and dry times of life. Sometimes God requires something as simple as a shoe. He never asked Moses to slay his son. He never asked Moses to leave His family or to give up his career…but He could have. This time it was only sandals. It could be a habit, a car, a CD, a book, or a number of other simple things. Or it could be a bank account, a farm, or a relationship. These are all sandals that keep us off our holy ground.
THE HOLY GROUND Moses had dwelt in this land for 40 years. I’m sure he had passed by ‘this spot’ many times. What was so different about this time? I think it is very possible to miss God day after day as we go about our daily routine. He places burning bushes everywhere we go. God used a bush. Did you ever wonder why? God speaks through the thorns. What a picture of Christ. He is our burning bush! God could have just ‘spoken’ to Moses. God chose a ‘bush’ or something frail to speak through. Often God will use the frail things in our lives to share His voice. God can speak through the weakest of the weak. God often inspires me through my children. Or sometimes though trees or grass. I’m sure Moses had stood on this very spot lots of times before. He had been tending sheep for some 40 years. Teacher Rob Bell asks, “Do you and I walk on holy ground all the time, but we are moving so fast and returning so many calls and writing so many emails and having such longs lists to get done that we miss it?”
Remember what Jacob said about his dream. “God is in this place and I wasn’t aware of it.” (Gen. 28:16)
I think we have made God so religious that many times we miss His sweet voice. As God used a simple bush to save a nation, he may speak to you through any element of nature. His voice is like the sound of many waters…again, something of nature. (Rev. 1:16) Are we listening? Are we watching?
June 09
James H. Coates
Posted at: 05:45 PM | Add Comment
